There and Back Again

Rain

Walking in the rain is one of the coolest things ever. Of course it is only cool if you’re not all dressed up in your nice dress and high heels, headed for work or school or to some meeting where you’re supposed to look decent. No, it’s cool to walk in the rain if it’s the weekend or any non-working day and you’re wearing jeans or sweats, sneakers and baseball hat. It’s cool to walk in the rain when you’re just headed to the market to grab a carton of whip cream for the cake you want to bake.

There’s a sense of simplicity in the act. You and the earth are one, getting in touch with each other. It reminds me of when I was young and was forbidden to play in the rain. I was like five or six when I was hospitalized for a nasty case of bronchial pneumonia. After that I was prohibited to play in the rain, let alone get caught in a slight drizzle or a mist. A drop of rain on my head was a cause of worry for my mother.

Yet there were times when I or my mother couldn’t have done anything to prevent the downpour from “getting” me. Rain would sometimes unpredictably pour as I’m headed home. Like magic, the sky would just open up and release this giant gush of water. Those were the most worthwhile moments of my life and the wonderful feeling it evoked has stayed with me always.

Now I’m almost thirty and walking in the rain is just as blissful as it used to be. Just as magical. It reminds me of my childhood, when all I could ever wish for was a chance to play and dance in the rain. How simple life was then. How simple my wishes were then…

If only life now at thirty were as simple. Then I won’t need to walk in the rain to be reminded how pleasant simplicity is.